The art and trade of silkscreening has existed for many years. Initially the silkscreen transfer was done via a silkscreen panel secured to a static frame and the tension on the panel was generated by hand and the panel secured by glue. Although these original wooden panels had many drawbacks, many are still in use today, along with static frames made of aluminum. More recently, aluminum frames made of rotatable tubular material allowed the operator to control the tension of the panel and in fact allowed the operator to retension the panel when it had become somewhat slack through use and age.
Although many advances have been made in the silkscreen industry over the years, including the above-noted roller frame and automatic machines, which, although expensive, allowed more control and more production. A large number of operators still use static frames in one form or another.